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Sunday, 2 July 2017

Showing work-in-progress (WIP) photos can be a double-edged sword. On one hand such images can be of use to hobbyists at a particular stage of their journey, which is why I do it. On the other hand WIP photos can be awfully boring. More so for weathering projects that involve many phases. For instance, this paint chipping stage is only the beginning of a long drawn out process comprising further painting of rust stains, pools and streaks; portraying decayed metals; creating depth with washes and lining; applying dust and dirt deposits; etc. I seek your patience as we begin ...

Before the weathering process could even begin I was faced with a problem. I needed to apply a layer of water to help salt adhere to the model kit's surface. Unfortunately the primer coat was too smooth thus causing the water to form droplets that just rolled off the surface. To combat this, I applied a coat of matt varnish which allowed a layer of water to remain on the surface. Ideally, the matt varnish should've been applied in a fine mist coating using an airbrush. But I didn't have one so I hand brushed it instead. Some pooling of the varnish occurred but thankfully it self-leveled after drying.

Polyurethane matt varnish had a dual-purpose of protecting the primer coat and allowing a layer of water to adhere to it

Using just a hand-held brush to apply the varnish, it wasn't surprising to see some varnish pooling at certain parts ...

An air brush would've produced a fine mist coating vs the pooling issues when using an ordinary brush

Although the matt varnish self-levels, it's still prudent to brush on the varnish in as thin a coat as you can manage

After the varnish had dried overnight, I sprinkled a combination of coarse and fine grain salt on the Rhino transport whose surface had been moistened with water. While the grains were still fairly wet they were manipulated into required shapes using a toothpick, and then left to dry overnight.

After a thin coat of water was applied onto the Rhino, both coarse and fine salt was sprinkled onto it

Care should still be taken after the salt has dried and stuck as it can easily be shaken loose

Once the salt had had the chance to dry overnight, it sticks to model kit albeit in a precarious way. The salt adheres strongly enough that you can spray paint on without blowing too much salt off the model kit. However, the salt can be easily brushed off the model kit using simple abrasive tools.

As this was a Nurgle/Death Guard Rhino, a pale green hue (Tamiya AS-29 Gray-Green IJN) was chosen for the basecoat

Pressure from the Tamiya spray can was just right and not too strong that it could dislodge the grains of salt

With an old toothbrush in hand, I proceeded to brush off the grains of salt thus chipping the paint. in addition, I also used a toothpick to create some variations in the chipping effect e.g. long thin streaks of chipped paint (most noticeable on the top/roof of the Nurgle Rhino). I wasn't too particular in removing every last bit of salt from the surface as any grain of salt left underneath the basecoat looked very much like pustules which fit in very well with the Nurgle theme of disease and death.

An old toothbrush and a toothpick were the abrasive tools of choice used to dislodge the grains of salt

Areas where the salt was dislodged displayed a chipped paint effect

On the whole, I'm pretty happy with how the chipped paint looked

Of all the sides of the Nurgle Rhino transport, it is the top/roof paint job which looks arguably 'over-chipped'. It should hopefully look much better after it had undergone further weathering.

Red oxide primer contrasts well with the pale green basecoat colour

Chipping effect was a tad overdone on the top/roof of the Nurgle Rhino

Bottom of the Nurgle Rhino, chipped paint and all

This is barely the beginning of the weathering process for the Nurgle Rhino. So much more remains to be done. To prevent the situation from overwhelming me, I plan to break up the weathering process into small manageable chunks such as the salt technique you see here. Up next will be additional painting around the chipped areas to further accentuate the rust effect. I'll be doing that concurrently with two other projects so I certainly have my hands full. But it's a happy kind of busy so I'm good.

Thanks ... I'm thinking this approach can either turn out well or really suck as it's quite difficult to control how the final chipped paint effect looks. There is a certain amount of shaping we can do while the salt is being added. But due to the unpredictability of how the grains of salt fall and stick to the model kit it can sometimes look terrible if you put too much which I may have done for the top hull. :)

Thank you sir. :) It's the inner OCD that this hobby seems to keep pulling out of me. I've this incredible urge to paint every single detail any miniature or model kit has. Sadly, not a good trait to have if finishing projects quickly is the aim.

Thanks ^_^ ... it's a technique I picked up since I started doing AFVs. But I think in the end the best way to do rust is to paint them in. Not as realistic if viewed at extreme closeups but at normal viewing distance it should look better.

I've read about this technique before, but never tried it myself. My (rather ancient and mostly-forgotten) degree in chemistry suggests that you should take care to remove absolutely all the salt if there are any metal components on the model as the salt may encourage corrosion. Probably doesn't make any difference with plastic models, though?

Spot on ... couldn't agree with you more. My long forgotten degree in biochemistry would attest to that ^_^ But I think I'm headed for trouble in this as there are some salt residues which I'm sure is going to affect the subsequent varnish coat. I'm going to try it out on the lower hull first so that errors are less visible. If varnish coating won't work then a normal acrylic clear coat is all I've left at my disposable to protect the paints from future enamel weathering.

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Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Kuan Hua aka FourEyedMonster may have joined the miniature painting scene late but he is mighty glad he finally took the plunge. With a love for all things creative ... be it painting, drawing or writing ... he is having a blast working with miniatures from as small as 28-mm in scale all the way to 90-mm. If you wish to know more about FourEyes in detail, please click the About Me tab above.

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